Posted on 06/16/2015 10:20:46 AM PDT by Brad from Tennessee
Sometimes when I’m reading about renewable technologies, I just break out laughing at the madness that the war on carbon has wrought. Consider the Ivanpah solar tower electric power plant. It covers five square miles in Southern California with mirrors which are all focusing the sun on a central tower. The concentrated sunlight boils water that is used to run a steam turbine to generate electricity.
Sounds like at a minimum it would be ecologically neutral … but unfortunately, the Law of Unintended Consequences never sleeps, and the Ivanpah tower has turned out to be a death trap for birds, killing hundreds and hundreds every year:
“After several studies, the conclusion for why birds are drawn to the searing beams of the solar field goes like this: Insects are attracted to the bright light of the reflecting mirrors, much as moths are lured to a porch light. Small birds — insect eaters such as finches, swallows and warblers — go after the bugs. In turn, predators such as hawks and falcons pursue the smaller birds.
But once the birds enter the focal field of the mirrors, called the “solar flux,” injury or death can occur in a few seconds. The reflected light from the mirrors is 800 to 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Either the birds are incinerated in flight; their feathers are singed, causing them to fall to their deaths; or they are too injured to fly and are killed on the ground by predators, according to a report by the National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory.”
– David Danelski, Solar: Ivanpah Solar Described as Deadly Trap for Wildlife,” Riverside-Press Enterprise, April 8, 2014. . .
(Excerpt) Read more at wattsupwiththat.com ...
"One big miscalculation was that the power plant requires far more steam to run smoothly and efficiently than originally thought, according to a document filed with the California Energy Commission. Instead of ramping up the plant each day before sunrise by burning one hour’s worth of natural gas to generate steam, Ivanpah needs more than four times that much help from fossil fuels to get plant humming every morning." MARKETWATCH
I have read that the whole area smells like fried chicken.
How do you see water vapor a factor?
The steam is generated inside closed loop piping.
No bright light from the beams, no insects, no brids, no raptors getting fried. Except maybe some hummingbirds and some bees that see in infrared.
But hey, TANSTAAFL.
Oh. In any case, environmentalists have gotten wind of wind factories and had them shut down, so they’ll possibly do the same with solar plants.
Right. They can open up a fried chicken joint there on the spot and feed the hungry. Kill 2 (or more) birds with one stone (laser).
Will this monstrosity ever pay for itself?
Well, if it smells like fried chicken, it probably taste like it too.
Eliminating the pesky bird problem in Southern California to be emulate wherever people are sick of bird droppings on their Priuses.
A steam powered power plant is a thermodynamic engine. In principle it is much like a hydroelectric power plant. Both require a "working fluid" which possesses potential energy.
In the hydro plant water is blocked by a dam which holds water behind the dam higher than the water downstream. This stores potential energy in the water (courtesy of gravity). Energy is extracted by allowing the water to flow through a turbine which drives a generator. It is "open loop" because the working fluid is allowed to escape at it's lowered energy state.
A thermodynamic engine uses heat as it's "working fluid". It adds heat to water to produce steam in a boiler (heat of vaporization). Energy is extracted by allowing the steam to pass through a turbine which powers a generator (sound familiar?). In order to limit the use of water, the exhaust steam from the turbine must be condensed (extract heat of condensation) before it can be injected back into the boiler as feed water.
A closed loop system requires a method to condense the turbine exhaust. Cooling towers will work but they are not closed loop and consume water. Water to water heat exchangers (typically used on coal fired plants located near large lakes) would be difficult to justify for a solar powered plant located in a desert environment.
Regards,
GtG
Wait till they fry a Condor or Bald eagle!
Not much different than "wind farms". The "law of unintended consequences" can not be avoided.
Regards,
GtG
I’m thinking that limiting the spectrum to infrared would significantly reduce the amount of energy that could be extracted. If there’s a reduction in capability, would the facility even be a viable proposition? Since I don’t know the numbers, I can’t do much more than speculate at this point. Anyone who can provide more information, please weigh in.
The economics of “solar power” escapes me. If there has to be stand-by power at all times to make sure there is some degree of reliability to the system, then essentially there have to be TWO parallel generation systems. And if the parallel system has to be built anyway, why bother with the inefficient and unreliable system at all?
Now, it there is a demand for a zero-pollution system for power generation, I submit that widespread development of Thorium fueled Molten-Salt nuclear power plants should be the technology that should be pursued. But so far, there is superstitious dread being stirred up against such a development.
There are a number of advantages to using Thorium-fueled Molten-salt nuclear reactor, in terms of safety, economy and flexibility of application. Every objection raised to the adoption of Thorium-fueled Molten-salt nuclear reactors can be answered,, and the cost-benefit ratio is VASTLY better than any reliance on wind or solar, and is even better than natural gas-fired power generation plants.
I also say, let the birds fry. Let natural selection do its thing.
Reminds me of the Tim Cavanagh parody of the Steve Miller Band song: “. . . I want to fry up an eagle. . .”
Not all cooling systems use outside water. The Ivanpah solar power plant discussed here uses Fin-Fan type coolers. The steam-water never leaves the pipes. The cooling is done with the passage of air over the radiators, like a car engine.
Exactly right.
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